Abstract

Ayahuasca is a traditional South American psychoactive
beverage and the central sacrament of Brazilianbased
religious groups, with followers in Europe and the
United States. The tea contains the psychedelic indole N,
N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and β-carboline alkaloids
with monoamine oxidase-inhibiting properties that render
DMT orally active. DMT interacts with serotonergic
neurotransmission acting as a partial agonist at 5-HT1A
and 5-HT2A/2C receptor sites. Given the role played by
serotonin in the regulation of the sleep/wake cycle, we
investigated the effects of daytime ayahuasca consumption
in sleep parameters.